The Catholic New York announced in today’s edition that the Archdiocese of New York with the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre, will merge their college seminary formation programs. A statement was released on January 11, read here.
Pakistani Muslims Protest Pope
Pakistani Muslims protested the part of Pope Benedict’s State of the World address where he says the blasphemy law ought to be repealed. Well, Pakistan’s Muslims don’t think it’s wise.
Saint Hilary Poitiers
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may rightly
understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Son, which the Bishop
Saint Hilary taught with such constancy.
understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Son, which the Bishop
Saint Hilary taught with such constancy.
Policeman shoots 4 Christians in Egypt, shouting Allah is great
The online magazine Catholic Culture (here below) carried this story today, which ran yesterday in the AFP, about a Muslim policeman killing Christian women when tensions are already running following the killing of Christians in a church. More sadness for humanity. It is also incredibly sad that the Egyptian Ambassador to the Holy See has stated that the view that Christians are not persecuted. Can you believe it??? The Ambassador’s head is in the sand.
Less than two
weeks after a church bombing in Alexandria left 21 Coptic Christians dead, an
off-duty policeman shot four Christians on a train, killing a 71-year-old man.
A fifth person was also wounded.
Continue reading Policeman shoots 4 Christians in Egypt, shouting Allah is great
The New York Encounter: a Different Cultural Event
Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, the ecclesial assistant for Communion and Liberation in the USA, published in the Italy-based online magazine, Il Sussidiario, an appreciative article on this coming weekend’s New York Encounter, a faith and culture festival.
The program: NY Encounter Program 2011.pdf
A few years ago, I accompanied Peter Beinart, then editor of The
New Republic to the “Meeting for the Friendship Among Peoples” in Rimini,
Italy, the event inspired by the charisma of Msgr. Luigi Giussani, founder of
Communion and Liberation. The New Republic has been and is still the journal of
intelligent liberalism in the United States. As editor, Peter was, in a certain
way, the voice of American progressive thinking. After we returned to the
United States, I asked Peter to write down his impressions of the Meeting so we
could publish it in Traces. He agreed, and wrote a piece in which he concluded
that such an event was not possible in the United States because of the
cultural clashes taking place in our country.
New Republic to the “Meeting for the Friendship Among Peoples” in Rimini,
Italy, the event inspired by the charisma of Msgr. Luigi Giussani, founder of
Communion and Liberation. The New Republic has been and is still the journal of
intelligent liberalism in the United States. As editor, Peter was, in a certain
way, the voice of American progressive thinking. After we returned to the
United States, I asked Peter to write down his impressions of the Meeting so we
could publish it in Traces. He agreed, and wrote a piece in which he concluded
that such an event was not possible in the United States because of the
cultural clashes taking place in our country.
Continue reading The New York Encounter: a Different Cultural Event
Bernard Fellay criticizes Pope unfairly over prayer at Assisi 2011
The Pope always
seems to get criticized at every twist-and-turn. He announced a gathering in
Assisi to have a World Day of Prayer in part to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of the first Day of Prayer hosted by John Paul II and to build
bridges -he is the Pontiff, the “bridge builder”–after all. Benedict’s noble
and good motive is this: “I will make a pilgrimage to the town of St Francis,
inviting my Christian brethren of different confessions, leaders of the world’s
religious traditions and, in their hearts, all men and women of good will, to
join me on this journey in order to commemorate that important historical
gesture of my predecessor, and solemnly to renew the commitment of believers of
all religions to live their religious faith as a service to the cause of peace.”
Continue reading Bernard Fellay criticizes Pope unfairly over prayer at Assisi 2011
Cardinals, bishops affirm miracle’s medical findings attributed to John Paul II
Another door to Pope John Paul’s beatification happened yesterday in Rome. The cardinals and bishops who are members of the Congregation of Saints have affirmed the veracity of the medical investigations of a miracle of attributed to the Venerable Servant of God Pope John Paul II, and the theological report on the same. Andrea Tornielli writes about the news.
Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, who suffered the effects of Parkinson’s Disease, makes the claim of healing through the intercession of John Paul who also suffered from the same.
Speculation is that Benedict will assign the liturgical memorial for John Paul to a date in October so that his April 2nd date of death and liturgical observance doesn’t conflict with Holy Week. Often the date of death is the feast day though not exclusively as we know of the recent case of Blessed John Henry Newman.
Saint Catherine of Genoa: a life of humility, constant prayer & mystical union, charitable service
“Since I began to love, love has never forsaken me. It has ever grown to its own fullness within my innermost heart.”
Our catechesis today deals with Saint Catherine of Genoa, a fifteenth-century saint best known for her vision of purgatory. Married at an early age, some ten years later Catherine had a powerful experience of conversion; Jesus, carrying his cross, appeared to her, revealing both her own sinfulness and God’s immense love. A woman of great humility, she combined constant prayer and mystical union with a life of charitable service to those in need, above all in her work as the director of the largest hospital in Genoa. Catherine’s writings on purgatory contain no specific revelations, but convey her understanding of purgatory as an interior fire purifying the soul in preparation for full communion with God. Conscious of God’s infinite love and justice, the soul is pained by its inadequate response, even as the divine love purifies it from the remnants of sin. To describe this purifying power of God’s love, Catherine uses the image of a golden chain which draws the soul to abandon itself to the divine will. By her life and teaching, Saint Catherine of Genoa reminds us of the importance of prayer for the faithful departed, and invites us to devote ourselves more fully to prayer and to works of practical charity.
Pope Benedict XVI
summary of Wednesday Catechesis on Saint Catherine of Genoa
Vatican City State, 12 January 2011
Jerusalem Patriarch: Being bearers of peace means sharing the cross of Christ
The address of January 11th delivered by the Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude, Fouad Twal at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate to bishops from around the world wasn’t that new and substantive but he talked about the tragic spilling of blood of many Christians in recent months, then he made a plea for a common and more deeper communion in the Lord with the hope of sharing the Eucharistic Table on earth. For
several years there’s been annual meeting of bishops from the various ecclesial
communions called the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the
Church of the Holy Land and another, the Assembly of Catholic Bishops in the
Holy Land. Basically, these bishops are meeting this week to discuss their philanthropic work in Jerusalem. Some of the address is excerpted here:
Now, more than ever, we see the
truth of what the Synod Fathers wrote in their propositions to the Holy Father,
that our calling to be bearers of peace, “means sharing the cross of Christ.”
We also wrote: “Amidst a world marked by division and extreme positions, we are
called to live communion in the Church staying open to everyone.” Clearly this
is a calling beyond our human strength at times. It is only the grace of God
present in our communion with Him and between us that can help us embrace this
mission as a precious gift.
truth of what the Synod Fathers wrote in their propositions to the Holy Father,
that our calling to be bearers of peace, “means sharing the cross of Christ.”
We also wrote: “Amidst a world marked by division and extreme positions, we are
called to live communion in the Church staying open to everyone.” Clearly this
is a calling beyond our human strength at times. It is only the grace of God
present in our communion with Him and between us that can help us embrace this
mission as a precious gift.
Continue reading Jerusalem Patriarch: Being bearers of peace means sharing the cross of Christ
Pope moving forward with Anglican Union
The Roman See is moving ahead with welcoming Anglicans who want to swim the Tiber. People are talking of an announcement of a structure around January 15. Recent ceremonies of welcome and communion signal the serious of many who want to be in communion with the Lord but also with the Lord’s Church. In coming weeks some are being ordained priests. Benedict’s providing space for those who want to be in full communion with the Catholic Church while keeping cherished patrimony alive –but fixing some theological and liturgical infelicities.
London’s online news, The Daily Mail has not new news but some noteworthy things. Their headline is a bit misleading and aims to be contentious….
The Catholic News Agency also has a story on the forthcoming Ordinariate.